Looking for a glassy finish

[durwood]

I'm surprised MacS hasn't followed up this yet.

Gloss has nothing to do with drying time or life expectancy.

A finish will gain its maximum gloss when it is applied. If you look at instructions for application of a finish on a tin or even on a technical data sheet for a professional finish you will rarely see instructions on how to get a gloss its intended that the a painter applies it properly to achieve full gloss ( lacquers are the exception they only reach about 80% gloss and require buffing) Normal paints are sold and labeled as gloss finish If you have to then rub, compound polish wax or what ever you have not quite made the grade with the finish.

Why do a lot of things come with a satin finish? because full gloss shows up far more faults than one with less gloss. You can have small imperfections in the surface or dust particles and they are a lot harder to see. From a consumers point of view gloss surfaces finger marks dust and other problems more easily to see so less gloss is favoured by most people and the manufacturers. If you asked for gloss you would be paying a lot more.

Professional finishes as MacS says need to be applies and passed on to customers quickly. Finishes available in normal outlets are designed for the non professional who will probable use a brush, roller or other method besides spray. Thse finishes are designed to dry slow and can take a long time to go completely hard. Attack them too soon and they dull off as solvent will continue to leech out and dull off the finish or be soft enough for the rubbing to affect the surface, buffing may create enough heat to make the finish sticky and get burn marks. These finishes never were designed to be rubbed back and then made to produce a shine. Any gloss you get will not be as good as the original when it was flowed onto the surface. Waxes and polish are designed to get you up to a better gloss level but its them that shines not the paint surface.

A 2 pack polyurethane used in industry dries too hard if left for more than a day in normal temperature ( and can be baked to dry in minutes) Leave it for a week and try to rub it or do some other gloss producing process such as machine buffing and you will get a result that is similar to trying to removing scratches out of glass the paint is so hard. The life of these finishes is at least 20 years.

You may have noticed that paint finishes on motor cars are not very glossy ( usually has orange peel or worse) unless it is the top of the line vehicles. To gain that mirror finish you are on the verge of the paint running so the car companies err on the side of caution, better to have a bit of peel than have to rub it down and put it through the line again.

The paint used to repair them these days is so good spray painters usually have to mix the paint and apply it badly to match the rest of the car, where they could if they wanted to apply it far glossier.

These paints also dry very rapidly, by using different hardeners and thinners they can be applied and the car owner can take them home in the rain in less than 1/2 hour and the gloss can be perfect.

Chemists working in the lab have it easy, they usually do all their work on small 6"x4" plates so its a breeze to get a perfect gloss.much harder when the areas are large or worse still vertical but they are designed for the idustry to use quickly or businesses would go bust. The main reason 2 packs are used is that they eliminate to need to polish after application, this saves hours and days in labour.

Want to get a perfect gloss quickly?

Spray the finish on in a dust free environment making sure there is no chance of contamination getting onto the surface once its applied.

Make sure the spray equipment you use is correct and adjusted properly for the paint type you are applying.

Make sure the surface to be covered is perfect with no faults in it or the gloss will show them up.

Ensure the finish is a top quality finish designed to apply and obtain 1st class results not something from a hardware store. Then mix it to the correct viscosity with the right thinner and hardener so it will be able to flow out into a mirror finish.

And of cause apply it correctly. If you can't do this then you will have to rub ,buff and polish it but it wasn't sold with that being a part of the process.

Do it right and you will get the best result possible, after that anything you do will detract from that finish even wiping it with a solf cloth.
Everything touching the surface will marr the gloss even a sweaty finger.

It is possible to get a prefect finish with a brush but it takes a lot longer and is a lot harder to do.

[MacS]

Durwood, I agree, as long before there was spraying there were mirror finishes.

Today, there are still some shops that only do hand finishes, there are some other shops that says they do hand finish, whereas, all the coatings are sprayed, but their final finishes do come from hand rubbing and polishing.

Consideration, should always be considered in the amount of time that you have to complete your work. by knowing the differences in the drying and curing time of each coating you work with can benefit you on which coating would be best for each job.

If you never tried pumice or rottenstone you should take the time to learn, they work on almost every coating, and they definitely will improve your finishing.

[astrid]

Does this application advise apply to oil based paint, gloss or satin?
Had to paint a kitchen table black last year.
Getting a smooth finish with a brush was a real bi ch.
This should help for next time
Thanks durwood and cruzi, will bookmark this one.

Astrid

[Toyboy]

To get a professional 'gloss' finish, use a short pile roller. Apply the finish with a brush as usual and then roll over the surface. After applying a few coats, I would not reccommend any more than 3 or 4 coats, there is a water-based duco cutting polish (about $175.00 per litre) that can be used with a polisher.
It can be rubbed by hand, but it really is hard work this way.
If you have a panelbeater mate, he/she may be able to give you a little to use.

Good luck with whichever solution you choose, because they are all very hard work, unless you are set-up with all the gear.